Week in pictures

Jaguar Land Rover is exhibiting pivotal cars from its history, including the C-X75 hybrid supercar concept, through 14 July as part of the Coronation Festival of events at Buckingham Palace. Among the vehicles is a 1949 Land Rover Series I, a 1961 Jaguar E-Type and a 1974 Range Rover used in royal transportation. Earlier this week, Jaguar showed the Project 7 Concept, built in homage to its Le Mans-winning D-Type of the 50s. (Photo: Newspress)

Vettel in control of Formula 1 leader board

Having suffered a gearbox failure at the British Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel, the 2010-2012 Formula 1 champion driver for Red Bull, recovered on 7 July in convincing fashion, edging Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen for the German GP win at the Nürburgring. The German pilot’s first victory in his home GP helped bolster his lead in the driver’s championship, which he leads by 34 points over Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. The tour next stops in Hungary on 28 July. (Photo: Action Press/Rex Features)

Vauxhall offers pre-Frankfurt glimpse of the future

The GM Europe subsidiary previewed the Monza, a conceptual sports car set to debut at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show in September. Karl-Thomas Neumann (pictured), Vauxhall’s CEO, said the Monza presaged a brand-wide styling overhaul. Vauxhall and its mainland-Europe sister division, Opel, have been particularly hard-hit by lagging sales in their markets in recent years. (Photo: Vauxhall, via Newspress)

Honda shows off crafty hands

The UK arm of Honda Motor added another showstopper to its list of brain-tickling adverts. With narration from US radio personality Garrison Keillor, two hands are depicted rendering a metal nut into a series of past and present products from the Japanese manufacturer. The spot has amassed nearly 4m views on Honda UK’s official YouTube channel. (Photo: Honda, via YouTube)

Toyota RAV4 underperforms in new crash test

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a US non-profit financed by the insurance industry, gave the 2013 Toyota RAV4 crossover a rating of “Poor” in a recently introduced frontal crash test. The test subjects a vehicle to an off-center impact to determine whether structural elements invade the passenger compartment on the driver’s side. The RAV4, which was redesigned for the 2013 model year, showed significant damage to the passenger cell, leading the IIHS to conclude trauma to the driver’s head and left leg would be likely in such an impact. (Photo: IIHS)

Tesla’s ceaseless stock surge

Tesla Motors, the California-based electric-vehicle manufacturer, is riding an unprecedented stock swing on the Nasdaq exchange, hitting a record $123.45 per share this week. According to Bloomberg, the stock is trading at 8,900 times the company’s estimated 12-month earnings, and the company has a market capitalisation of $15bn – more than automakers like Fiat and Mazda – leading many analysts to call the stock overvalued. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty)

Porsche honoured at Goodwood

As part of the marque’s 50th anniversary celebration of its 911 sports car, Porsche is the featured manufacturer at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, England. The automaker has received permission from owners of many historically significant 911s to exhibit their cars on the estate of Lord March through 14 July. Porsche will officially mark the 911’s 50th anniversary at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show in September, where it will show a special-edition 911 limited to a run of 1,963 units – echoing the year in which the original 911 was introduced. (Photo: Porsche Cars, via Newspress)